What's Next for Toms, the $400 Million For-Profit Built on Karmic Capital

... Toms is always seeking better ways to give. In particular, it seems to be addressing one criticism that has dogged it for years: that it offers humanitarian aid rather than economic development. "The whole principle of buy-one-get-one-free for a poor person--that's not a sustainable model," says Andreas Widmer, director of entrepreneurship at the Catholic University of America. In 2006, Widmer, who was then running a social venture fund, gave Toms an innovation award. But he later grew skeptical. Being a giver of fish rather than a teacher of fishing "is not the way to deal with poverty," says Widmer. ...